


Festival

by Geekygirl24



Series: Assassin's Creed [5]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bigotry & Prejudice, M/M, Vex is awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-28 04:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12598508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekygirl24/pseuds/Geekygirl24
Summary: When an unpopular politician comes to town, Vex crosses the line





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As well as my Evie & Jacob one shots, I am also writing a modern Assassin’s creed series
> 
>  
> 
> Previously in this series: After being framed for a crime, Jacob left the Order and the Assassin village. Five year later, the Young Assassin team meet Vex and enter into an agreement with him and his club.
> 
>  
> 
> After a bombing at the club, it is revealed that Shay Patrick Cormac has escaped the high security prison he was in…. and is now in the wind. Jacob however, is still in the wind after leaving his friends a letter
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy, and read and review 

The fact that Jacob had been seen near the Creed’s village was a well-kept secret…. Which of course, meant that everyone within those walls knew.

 

It also meant, the almost every Assassin had made their way to the club to try and catch a glimpse of Jacob if he ever returned.

 

It was putting a real damper on the club’s business.

 

“You may be right! I may be crazy! 

But it just may be a lunatic, you’re looking for!”

 

Vex relaxed in the booth as the Bon Jovi tribute band played the final song.

 

It had been a long day, and an even longer night. Once this song was over, he could close the club and try to sleep.

 

Something was wrong…. He could sense it.

 

Forget the Assassins…. They were harmless overall.

 

No, no…. this was about the people on the table in the corner… they were acting very weird.

 

“You look like you’re ready to kill someone.”

 

Vex startled at Kenzi’s voice so close to his ear, twisting around to glare at her as she sat down next to him. “Don’t do that… and haven’t you noticed how they’re acting? Especially around the new waitress?”

 

“Crystal?”

 

“That’s the girl, Melissa and Candice are taking care of her right?”

 

Melissa and Candice were the senior members of the waitressing gang, so they were often put in charge of helping the new employees.

 

Crystal was from Australian, tall with dark skin and green eyes. She had short, wavy, platinum blonde hair that she had dyed before travelling to American. She was anxious, but swore like a trooper when you got her going…. And her little stories/art were incredibly imaginative.

 

She wasn’t traditionally beautiful, but she was definitely an attractive girl…. And it looked like those men had realised it as well.

 

There were three of them…. Two of them were clearly lackeys, but the third, the one in the middle, was huge.

 

And Crystal was clearly nervous because of that.

 

The poor girl looked as though she was going to faint, especially when she went to check that everything was alright with their drinks… and she was then pulled into the booth with them.

 

“Kenzi. Code 8.” Vex blurted out, shuffling out of his own private booth and casually striding over.

 

As he got closer, he watched as the leader goaded his waitress into sipping some of the wine he’d ordered.

 

It was only when the glass tipped back, that Vex saw the white powder on the bottom of the glass.

 

“HEY!”

 

…………………………………….

 

“It’s just a night out…” Ezio groaned, “… after all that fuss with the grocery shipment, I thought we could use a break.”

 

“When we still have that businessman to investigate?” 

 

“We closed that case yesterday…” Arno reminded Evie, “… didn’t you go to sleep.”

 

Evie wearily rubbed her eyes, clearly resisting the urge to yawn, “I just wanted to get the report done b-b-before…” she paused to yawn, “… before the festival tomorrow.”

 

Aah yes…. The Festival.

 

An important politician was coming to visit the town, hoping to gain votes for the upcoming presidential election, so the town was throwing a festival for him…. And the Assassins were expected to monitor the event.

 

It wasn’t going to be fun…. The man had some rather strong opinions on certain races, religions and sexualities.

 

As they approached Vex’s club, they took a step back as the door flew open and three men were thrown out into the streets.

 

“- And if I ever see you anywhere near this club again, I’ll have the police called on you!” Vex seemed to be mid-rant as he stormed out of the club after them, “You have all that money, and you still have to drug a girl to have sex with them… I’d say your personality really isn’t working out well for you!”

 

With the light that hung over the top, the group of Assassins could see that it was the prospective Vice President who was lying in the dirt out the club…. Which of course, caused them all to wince.

 

Unfortunately, Vex also seemed to know who the man was. “I know what you expected to happen Mister Turnbull…. You expected me to just roll over and say that my poor waitress got a little bit too drunk, and that she soooooo wanted to sleep with you really!”

 

The sarcasm could have cut through brick.

 

“After all…” Vex continued, “… you’ve done it before haven’t you?”

 

Turnbull glared at the club owner, “There were no signs of rape! I was never convicted!”

 

“No signs of rape…. As if she had to prove you forced yourself upon her!”

 

“If there’s a burglary, there’s usually signs of a forced entrance!”

 

“… NOT IF YOU’VE DISABLED THE SECURITY SYSTEM AND STOLEN THE KEYS FROM THE OWNER! BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT RAPE DRUGS ARE LIKE!”

 

Two large men had come to stand behind Vex at this point, both cracking their knuckles in a silent threat.

 

Arno decided to interrupt here, stepping forwards to help the possible Vice-President to his feet. “I think, it may be time for you to go home.” He gently ordered the man, “It is a big day tomorrow after all.”

 

With a snort and a sneer at Vex, Turnbull brushed the dirt off his suit and stormed away, closely followed by his lackeys.

 

“I’m about ready to lose the plot…” grumbled Vex, as he turned to head back indoors, “… this may not be a great time for a bunch of Assassins to drop by un-announced.”

 

The Assassins remained silent as they followed Vex inside and to his private office, where a young waitress was being helped by several other members of staff.

 

“If you want to take some time off work Crystal…” Kenzi was explaining, “… then please do so. We don’t want you to feel like you have to keep working.”

 

Crystal just nodded in understanding, obediently following the first aider’s gentle orders as they checked for serious issues.

 

“She just needs to rest and let the drug make its way out of her system…” the first aider eventually concluded, “… I don’t think she’ll have any serious reactions from here on out, but you should probably call the emergency contact, just in case.”

 

Kenzi nodded in agreement, already pulling up the file on the computer, “I’ll give them a call now… Crystal, I’m going to call your boyfriend, alright?”

 

Sensing that privacy was needed, Vex encouraged the Assassin team to leave and followed them out of the room.

 

“Sorry you had to witness that…” he muttered, “… you’d be surprised at how often I have to throw people out for things like that.”

 

“It seems a little busy in there….” Conner pointed out, “… more than usual?”

 

“Hmmmm, it’s this presidential festival…. And the fact that half your Creed wants to see if Jacob Frye will ever return to the town.” 

 

“…. That many Assassins are coming here?”

 

“Yeah… and not buying anything while they’re at it.”

 

The Young Assassins all glanced at each other, before Evie stepped forward. “We’re sorry… we never wanted to make life difficult for you.”

 

“Yeah, well you have… and now, a bigot is coming to town and bringing his cronies with him.”

 

Conner frowned at this, “You’re not planning on doing anything are you?”

 

“Moi?” Vex winked at the larger man, “I will be nothing but well behaved. Besides, didn’t you hear?”

 

“Hear what?”

 

“Me and Kenzi are going to be hosting the festival.”


	2. True Colours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As well as my Evie & Jacob one shots, I am also writing a modern Assassin’s creed series
> 
>  
> 
> Previously in this series: After being framed for a crime, Jacob left the Order and the Assassin village. Five year later, the Young Assassin team meet Vex and enter into an agreement with him and his club.
> 
>  
> 
> After a bombing at the club, it is revealed that Shay Patrick Cormac has escaped the high security prison he was in…. and is now in the wind. Jacob however, is still in the wind after leaving his friends a letter
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy, and read and review 

When the festival finally came around, the Assassins were on high alert. Positioned on rooftops all around the town centre courtyard, they kept a careful eye on the ever-growing crowds, making sure that everything was calm for when the presidential candidate, Jared Alex, arrived to make his grand speech. 

 

Freddie was leading the police squadron, who would be the protection detail on the guard.

 

In the streets, people were laughing and dancing…. They had a day off work and school, so it was understandable.

 

In the centre of the courtyard, Vex was riling up the crowd, getting them to chant a… well, it wasn’t a very forgiving song about Mister Alex.

 

Less said about that, the better.

 

Vex was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt that was covered in colourful patches, purple pinstripe trousers, odd colour Doc Martins and a dark purple Harlequin mask. It was a kooky outfit, but it matched his current mood as he swang around on street poles and jumped into small puddles.

 

It was certainly entertaining and honestly, no-one would think this was a serious presidential campaign.

 

Jared Alex has arrived only moments before and was patiently waiting to start…. There was another ten minutes to go though, and Vex was going to make the most of that.

 

“We have the most beautiful women in this town!” Vex cheered, “But only one has agreed to dance today… many of you know her as my gorgeous, but moody friend…. Today, she is mixing up her wardrobe a little bit just for you! Please give a big hand to Kenzi!”

 

He threw a smoke bomb to the ground, seeming to vanish into thin air as Kenzi appeared in his place… or at least, they thought it was Kenzi.

 

Usually, Vex’s friend was dressed in gothic clothing with dark make-up that highlighted all her features.

 

She was beautiful then… now, she was jaw-dropping.

 

The outfit was a deep, burgundy red, and made up of a long-sleeved crop top (with a hole that showed the slightest hint of cleavage) and short-shorts, which had flowing material at the back that swished around her legs as she danced, barefoot on the stage.

 

He dark hair had been curled and hung around her face enchantingly, the soft curls bouncing with every step. Her make-up was simpler, yet it still looked gorgeous.

 

“Hey officers! I see how you stare!” Kenzi laughed, “Shut the jaws boys!”

 

If anything, more jaws began to drop as Kenzi span around and shake, with her even going so far as to wink flirtatiously at Jared Alex…. Who looked very interested.

 

And Kenzi knew it.

 

A wicked smile on her face, Kenzi slowly sidled closer, her hips moving hypnotically. When she was a little over an arm’s length away from him, she pulled a long, silky piece of fabric out of… somewhere, and used the smooth fabric to pull Jared closer.

 

For a moment, it seemed as though the flirting was going to go somewhere…. Until Kenzi smirked and yanked on the politician’s tie, jerking him forwards slightly, before she nimbly danced away.

 

Jared Alex was clearly not happy with this… especially as the crowd laughed at his slight humiliation.

 

As the music started to reach its’ crescendo, Kenzi’s dance grew even more extravagant, with her even swinging around on a pole as though she was dancing in one of the more… seedier clubs. Eventually, the music came to a stop and the crowd all whooped with glee, especially when Vex leapt back onto the stage and joined in with the laughter.

 

“Sorry about that Mister Politician!” he whooped, “Looks like you aren’t her type!”

 

Up on the rooftops, Evie audibly groaned, “Why was Vex asked to host this?”

 

“Because everyone loves him…” Connor answered, “… and Jared Alex needed to crowds. If it was only his supporters, there’d be no point in holding a rally.”

 

“… Since when do you know so much about poli- Oh, Haytham right?”

 

“Who else?”

 

…………………………………………………….

 

The speech had been going on for about twenty minutes now, and showed no signs of slowing down, much to everyone’s disappointment.

 

At the moment, Jared Alex was talking about how he planned to restore traditional cultural and moral values, a complete social reform in order to bring about peace.

 

AKA, putting an end to same-sex marriages, divorces etc, etc.

 

It was a load of bullshit, and no-one in the town even remotely believed what was coming out of his mouth…. As evidenced by the eye-rolling and grumbling of the ground below him. People were starting to lose interest, with several moving as though to leave.

 

And then the drama started.

 

“You two!” Jared called out, pointing at two girls who were headed towards a nearby alleyway, hoping to leave the rally, “Where do you think you’re going?”

 

One of the girls, turned around and sneered at the man… and the followers who had started to mutter amongst themselves. “We’ve got dinner reservations…. Send us a recording, maybe we’ll listen to it!”

 

At the heavily implied fact that they were going on a date with one another, Mister Alex’s supporters started to jeer at the couple, many of using homophobic slurs and other nasty comments… and the politician was doing nothing.

 

As the jeering and insults got louder and louder, and the girls started feeling as though they were boxed in, Freddie leaned over to speak to the politician. “Sir, shouldn’t you do something? Stop them from being so cruel? This is an equal opportunity society!”

 

“They were being disrespectful… and my supporters aren’t hurting them.”

 

“Not physically… no.”

 

This soon changed as one of the supporters picked up a rock and threw it in the general direction of the two girls, laughing when it struck the all just above their heads. This one act of violence encouraged the rest of the supporters to follow on, their jeers turning to threats.

 

When one of them picked up a much larger rock, bringing their arm back to throw it, Freddie found himself rushing forwards…. Despite knowing that he wouldn’t make it through the crowds in time.

 

As the rock flew through the air, the two girls knew that the chances of it hitting them was high, prompting them to try and shield one another, hunching in on themselves. Seconds before the rock would have struck them in the shoulder, a shot rang out and the rock shattered into a million tiny pieces.

 

There was a shocked silence as a familiar figure strode over to stand in front of the girls, acting as their protector.

 

“A street party…” Jacob smirked, “… and nobody invited me!”


	3. Intervention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As well as my Evie & Jacob one shots, I am also writing a modern Assassin’s creed series
> 
>  
> 
> Previously in this series: After being framed for a crime, Jacob left the Order and the Assassin village. Five year later, the Young Assassin team meet Vex and enter into an agreement with him and his club.
> 
>  
> 
> After a bombing at the club, it is revealed that Shay Patrick Cormac has escaped the high security prison he was in…. and is now in the wind. Jacob however, is still in the wind after leaving his friends a letter
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy, and read and review :)

There was a shocked silence as a familiar figure strode over to stand in front of the girls, acting as their protector.

 

“A street party…” Jacob smirked, “… and nobody invited me!”

 

Evie felt like her heart was sinking into her stomach at the familiar voice… and cheekiness that went with it. “Jacob…” she whispered, just as she heard Ezio call out his friend’s name

 

“JACOB!”

 

“… oh my god…” she continued, leaning over the edge of the rooftop as though trying to get closer, “… Jacob!”

 

The rest of the assassins were also shocked by their friends’ sudden appearance, with many breaking formations in order to get a better view. 

 

Jared Alex, however, didn’t recognise him and sneered. “Step aside at once!” he ordered, “You are causing unrest amongst the people, and I will not have a riot at my rally!”

 

“And yet you’re willing to let your minions throw rocks at them? How very ancient history of you...”

 

“STEP DOWN!”

 

“I know I’ve been away for a few years, but I know that your views are out-dated! You can’t treat people like this, and you can’t let your minions treat people like this!”

 

“SILENCE!”

 

“FREEDOM!”

 

It was a little dramatic, but it had the desired effect… the crowd fell silent and Jared Alex was left gaping like a fool.

 

The two girls took advantage of the stunned silence, and escaped into the alleyway.

 

“Mark my words…” Jared Alex hissed, the words echoing throughout the entire courtyard due to the microphone, “… you will pay for this insolence!”

 

Jacob was clearly not fussed.

 

“Oh of course Your Highness!” He exclaimed in a mocking tone, bowing low and smirking, “How ever could I say bad things about the King of Fools and his pet clowns?!”

 

The crowd (aside from Jared’s supporters) erupted into laughter at this, although it was very nervous sounding.

 

Jared Alex was not impressed at all, turning to Freddie. “Arrest him!”

 

Freddie, however, was still in shock…. Jacob was here… Jacob was actually here.

 

Whilst he was still some distance away, Freddie could still spot some key details about his… Jacob.

 

The ex-assassin was skinner than he had been, with the large coat practically hanging off him. It was clear that the years away from the Creed hadn’t done Jacob any favours.

 

He still looked beautiful though.

 

“Sergeant Abberline!” 

 

Freddie jumped slightly and turned to face the politician, who was glaring at him. 

 

“Arrest. Him!”

 

Freddie sighed, bringing his hand up to his communicator. “Arrest Jacob Frye…” he ordered the lower officers, “… do not harm him.”

 

//Ummmm Sir? Are you seriously suggesting we try and take down an ex-assassin? \\\

 

Harry was his second-in-command and clearly remembered how good of an assassin Jacob was… and probably still was.

 

Despite their worries, the police slowly started to surround Jacob, who was smirking at them, almost daring them to come closer.

 

“So, let’s see…” he began, “… one, two, three, four, five, six… so there’s six of you, and one of me.” He gasped in mock shock, “What am I ever going to do?!”

 

Pulling a hanky out of his pocket, Jacob sniffed and wiped away imaginary tears, before sneezing and disappearing with a cloud of black smoke.

 

Jared took several steps back in shock. “Assassin!” he hissed, spinning around as though trying to spot where Jacob might be.

 

A sharp whistle suddenly attracted everyone’s attention, and everyone turned to the nearby car-park, where Jacob Frye was standing on top of a Land-rover…. Judging by the personalised number-plate, it was Jared Alex’s personal vehicle.

 

“Over here officers!” Jacob taunted, “Come and get me if you can!”

 

The officers tried… oh god did they try, but Jacob led them on a merry goose chase all around the courtyard, using the excited crowd to his advantage as he ducked and weaved in between people, clambering up until he was balanced at the top of the local church spire… before falling backwards and vanishing with another cloud of smoke.

 

The crowd were clearly excited, all chattering to one another as they slowly began to disperse.

 

Jared Alex was not happy with that.

 

Evie, Ezio and the other young assassins weren’t worried about that. They had all gathered around the church, looking for any sign of Jacob.

 

Nothing.

 

“I didn’t imagine that did i?” asked a voice from behind them, soon revealing itself to belong to Freddie, who looked as though he was going to pass out from shock, “That was Jacob wasn’t it?”

 

“Undeniably so….” Sighed Evie, “… but he didn’t even acknowledge us… why?”

 

“Maybe he didn’t know we were there?”

 

Ezio shook his head, “A big political rally like that? No… he knew we were there, he just chose to ignore us.” He turned to his friends, “We need to find him.”

 

“I agree Mister Assassin!”

 

Everyone turned around to see Jared Alex storming towards them, his face red with rage. “That boy made a fool out of me, and the police proved themselves to be as useless as humanly possible. You… Assassins are the best hope of finding him.”

 

Freddie was slightly offended at his officers being referred to as useless, but chose not to say anything as Jared Alex continued to rant.

 

“I want him found alive and arrested. And then, I want to be there for his trial! He almost started a riot at my rally and I want him to be punished for this!”

 

The Assassins remained silent, both to let Freddie speak… and because none of them thought they would be able to stop themselves from saying something… insulting.

 

“Of course Sir…” Freddie straightened up, “…. The police and the Assassins will team up and catch the man.”

 

“You’d better! This is a small town, and it would be a shame for it to lose its funding because eof one arrogant brat!”

 

The Assassins didn’t even flinch at that, watching as the politician stormed away before all turning to Freddie.

 

“Is he aware that the town is funded mostly by contributions from the Upper Assassin families?” Conner asked, his dark eyes stony and cold.

 

“No…” Freddie sighed, “… but I couldn’t care less about him. What are we going to do about Jacob?”

 

There was a brief silence, before Arno stepped forwards. “We should split up, he can’t have gotten far, but there are a number of places he can hide. We’ll have a better chance of finding him then.”

 

The rest of the team nodded, their thoughts already thinking about what they’d even say if one of them did manage to corner Jacob.

 

I’m sorry?

 

Please come back?

 

We’ve missed you?

 

It all seemed so insignificant.

 

Before they split up, Evie pulled tapped her communicator with a deep sigh. “Father needs to know about this…” she whispered, “… the Council may need to get involved.”

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………

 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

 

“I think I was being awesome! It certainly caught Jared’s attention.”

 

“You are mean to be keeping a low cover”

 

“…. I wasn’t just going to stand by and let those bastards hurt those girls… I guess I still have a little bit of hero in me.”

 

The was a groan of sheer frustration, before “OW!” could be heard all around the alleyway.

 

“What was that for?!”

 

“You know what that was for!”

 

The sound of police sirens filled the air, causing the pair to panic.

 

“…. You need to kiss me!”

 

“What?!”

 

“Kiss me! As a distraction, you know! Nobody wants to watch PD-AAH!”

 

As the police rushed by, they paused briefly to watch as one figure punched the other in the face, before storming out of the alleyway, heading straight towards them.

 

“Sorry about that boys… he got a little handsy. Don’t worry. I took care of it.”


	4. The Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As well as my Evie & Jacob one shots, I am also writing a modern Assassin’s creed series
> 
>  
> 
> Previously in this series: After being framed for a crime, Jacob left the Order and the Assassin village. Five year later, the Young Assassin team meet Vex and enter into an agreement with him and his club.
> 
>  
> 
> After a bombing at the club, it is revealed that Shay Patrick Cormac has escaped the high security prison he was in…. and is now in the wind. Jacob however, is still in the wind after leaving his friends a letter
> 
>  
> 
> Please enjoy, and read and review :)

Nothing.

 

It was like Jacob had simply vanished into thin air.

 

Nobody had seen nor heard any trace of the missing assassin, not since everyone witnessed him jumping from the top of the church.

 

Evie just couldn’t understand it.

 

“He’s got to be somewhere…” she hissed, scanning over maps of the city, “… have we definitely checked every known Assassin hide-out we have on file?!”

 

Conner nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. “We’ve even checked ever non-official one thanks to my Father… he’s now-where to be found.”

 

Running her fingers through her hair in frustration, Evie swept the maps and other equipment off of the table and growled. “NOTHING! HOW CAN HE JUST HAVE DISAPPEARED?!”

 

The rest of the group were silent.

 

“…. Father was so happy when I told him that Jacob was back in town…. He hasn’t been that happy in years, and now I’ll have to tell him that once again, Jacob has left us… left him.”

 

Dismayed by his girlfriend’s clear pain and frustration, Henry reached out to her, attempting to place his hand on her shoulder… Evie just turned away though.

 

Silence.

 

After a couple of minutes, the silence was broken by someone clearing their throat in the doorway, prompting everyone to turn in that direction. Standing in the doorway, Leonardo nervously waved at them. “I was just wondering if anyone had tried contacting Vex yet?”

 

“… Pardon.”

 

Leo shrugged, “Well, Jacob has been seen around that area and he did give Vex the letter…. Maybe that’s Jacob’s safe-house?”

 

The rest of the team all glanced at one another, many of them flushing slightly when they realised that they didn’t even think about Vex.

 

“Surely Vex would have told us though?” Arno interrupted, “He has helped us quite a bit so far.”

 

“But he is hiding something…” Conner pointed out, “… none of us can deny that.”

 

Evie nodded, “And it would make sense if it his big secret was that he’s always known where Jacob was… that he’d always been in contact with my brother, even when he knew that we were looking for him.”

 

By the end of the sentence, her voice was raised and only a fool would miss the anger in it.

 

“We need to find Vex and get some answers.” Ezio eventually concluded (as Evie sounded too angry to even talk at the moment), “Leo’s right. If Jacob is still in the town, the chances of him being there are very high.”

 

“And if he is there?”

 

“Then he has a lot to answer for.”

 

………………………………………………………………

 

Despite their anger and frustration, their entry into the club was silent, effortlessly drifting through the crowd and making their way to Vex’s office. Upon bursting through the door, they came face-to-face with a very annoyed Kenzi.

 

“What do you want?” she scowled, folding her arms over her chest.

 

Whilst she was back in her usual attire, the make-up that she was wearing whilst dancing was still on…. It didn’t quite work with the outfit.

 

“What. Do. You. Want?”

 

Evie stepped forwards, straightening up as she looked Kenzi in the eyes. “We want to see Jacob.”

 

“… I beg your pardon?”

 

“You heard me.”

 

Kenzi raised an eyebrow and smirked, “And what makes you think that we even have him?”

 

“We know he’s still in the town…. The only place he can be, is here!”

 

Kenzi’s smirk only seemed to get wider, “Really? Then please oh please… find him, because we’ve not seen him.”

 

“You’re willing to let us search this entire place?”

 

Vex, who had the back of his chair turned away from them, simply raised his hand into the air. “Be our guests. But if you try and finish your little witch hunt before six, that would be brilliant…. We have a birthday party booked.”

 

Conner rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry. We’ll be out of your hair before the drunk teenagers get here.”

 

“Who said anything about teenagers? This is a kid’s party.”

 

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

“Disney party…. Why did it have to be a Disney party?!” Evie growled as the team started to search the upper decks, “And why the Goofy movie?!”

 

“If we listen to each other's heart  
We'll find we're never too far apart  
And maybe love is the reason why  
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye.”

 

The children downstairs were all loudly singing along to the movie on the screen, high-pitched voices that were mostly out of tune, completely oblivious to the search that was going on upstairs.

 

“Has anyone found anything? Any sign at all?” Evie eventually asked in frustration, “There must be something?!”

 

The rest of the team shook their heads, disappointed looks on their faces as the search came to a stop. There was silence (aside from the singing), as they struggled to think of what to do next.

 

“…. Has anyone seen Vex’s room?”

 

Everyone turned to Arno, who was staring at a simple door at the end of a long corridor. 

 

It was also the only door in the entire club, that was locked.

 

“He’s right…” Evie eventually concluded, “… Vex said we could search anywhere, and that includes his room. Ezio?”

 

Ezio, who was the team’s master-lockpicker, smirked and headed over to the door, pulling his lockpicks out of his pocket as he went.

 

“Give me a minute, and this will be open before you can say breaking and entering.”

 

He was right. Within a couple of minutes, the door was open and the team slowly made their way in, eyes scanning the room for any traps.

 

It was a plain room…. In fact, it barely looked slept in, with only a few books on the shelf and an old TV in the corner.

 

“It doesn’t look as though this room has ever been lived in.”

 

“Oh, it has…” Evie gestured at the bed, which was sloppily made, “… definitely slept in recently… but why is it so bare?” She turned to Ezio, “Has Leo managed to dig up anything about Vex’s background?”

 

“Nothing.” Ezio then turned to Conner, “Aveline? She’s good at sneaking around and getting information out of people? Vex has been to enough high-class parties, maybe one of them knows more about him?”

 

Conner shook his head, “I’ve already asked her… they know about as much as we do. Vex hasn’t been around long, and no-one has ever seen his face or heard his real voice.”

 

“You mean that mask and voice modulator isn’t just for our benefit?”

 

“No… it appears as though there is no-one that Vex truly trusts.”

 

Evie thought to herself for a few moments, before shaking her head. “No… there is one person. Kenzi will probably know exactly who Vex is.”

 

Another quick glance around the room didn’t reveal anything at first… until Evie noticed a slightly loose floorboard near the messy bed. Prying it open, she spotted a small chest sitting underneath the board.

 

“I think I have something…”

 

Everyone gathered round as Evie lifted the chest up, out into the open. When they got a full view of the item, Edward gave a low whistle.

 

“Those are some fancy locks…. High grade security right there.”

 

“For a box?”

 

The locks certainly looked intricate. Some were even rusted over, as though the box hadn’t been opened in years.

 

“Edward. Ezio…. Is there any way you can open this?”

 

The pair examined it closely, before wincing. 

 

“It’ll be difficult…” Edward eventually concluded, “… but not impossible. We can’t do it quickly.”

 

“Try… please. Something that well protected must be hiding something important…. And I need to know what it is.”

 

The pair nodded and quickly got to work, with the rest of the team keeping an eye out for anyone approaching the room.

 

…………………………………………………..

 

“What does he need to hide so badly!” Edward muttered angrily, cursing in Welsh under his breath, as they struggled with the second lock, “Nobody needs to hide something this badly!”

 

“Clearly Vex does.” Ezio sat back, clenching and unclenching his fingers in an attempt to release some of the tension, “Merda! What is he hiding?!”

 

“I don’t think it’s really any of your business…” 

 

They all turned around and winced at the sight of Vex standing in the doorway.

 

“Now…” continued the club-owner, “… step away from the box please.”

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

“It’s wrong you know…”

 

Vex didn’t look away from the window, keeping an eye on the leaving group.

 

“… the way they were snooping around your room. What if- “

 

“- what if nothing!” Vex interrupted, “They didn’t find anything, and they never will.”

 

“But what if- “

 

“- They. Won’t. Find. Anything.” Vex glared as the group disappeared into the shadow, “I can guarantee that.”


End file.
